The reception of asylum seekers still causes a lot of unrest. Many people are looking for a safe haven in our country. So much that it is feared that the application center in Ter Apel again has too few places. That is why municipalities are called upon to provide shelters. Five questions and answers about the asylum crisis.
1. Is there an asylum crisis?
Perhaps it would be more appropriate to speak of a reception crisis. This is mainly because there is more capacity when many people enter the country, but it is also easy to scale back afterwards. Compare it with the number of beds in the intensive care unit of a hospital. A room full of empty IC beds is a hard sell. The same applies to an empty azc.
We also suffer from a housing shortage in the Netherlands. Refugees who are allowed to stay should be given a normal house, but there are hardly any. As a result, they continue to live in the azc for longer, and there is less room there for asylum seekers about which a decision has not yet been made.
2. Where do most refugees come from?
Most asylum seekers come from Syria and Afghanistan. In addition, there are many political refugees and earthquake victims from Turkey and refugees from Yemen. Refugees from Syria and Afghanistan are the most likely to receive a residence permit.
Most asylum seekers end up in reception camps in Turkey (especially Syrians), Germany, Colombia (South America), Uganda (Africa) and Pakistan (Asia). That list shows that most refugees are actually received in ‘the region’.
3. Who is responsible for housing?
The COA (Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers) is responsible for the reception. Refugees briefly live in a ‘process reception location’ where their asylum procedure begins. Then they are given shelter in an asylum seekers’ centre.
If there is not enough space in the asylum seekers’ centres, the COA temporarily accommodates asylum seekers in the emergency shelter. These are temporary locations with fewer facilities, such as event halls. Is there no room there? Then municipalities and security regions arrange crisis emergency shelter. Short care in, for example, a sports hall.
4. Are most asylum seekers fortune seekers?
Most asylum seekers flee war, violence or persecution. The journey that refugees make in search of a safe place is often perilous. Poverty and hunger are no reason to stay in the Netherlands.
The question of whether someone can stay is considered very carefully. For example, people who leave their country for economic reasons are not granted refugee status.
5. How long does an asylum procedure take?
Without the current backlogs, the asylum procedure takes between 6 and 15 months. Within that time, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) must decide whether someone will receive a residence permit.
If you come from a country that is known as ‘safe’, the procedure will go much faster. ‘Safelanders’ mainly look for temporary accommodation in the azcs with a bed, food and drink. These facilities are not intended for that. That is why these procedures are often completed within 9 weeks and the ‘safe country’ is returned. Incidentally, only 4% of asylum seekers come from a safe country.
That does not always go smoothly, because the country of origin often refuses to take them back. That is why the Netherlands concluded the ‘Morocco deal’ a few months ago. Morocco has promised to take back its inhabitants. Nevertheless, rejected ‘safe-landers’ often run off and disappear into illegality.